Ablynx Announces 2008 Full Year Results

GHENT, BELGIUM--(Marketwire - February 24, 2009) - Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX], a pioneer in the discovery and development of Nanobodies®, a novel class of antibody-derived therapeutic proteins, announced today its results for 2008, which have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union.

2008 Highlights

  * EUR 113.6 million in cash, cash equivalents and financial assets at
    year end
  * 69% increase in revenues to EUR 16.8 million (2007: EUR 9.9 million)
  * Initiated a Phase Ib study in May in patients for ALX-0081, an
    anti-thrombotic, and reported in December that the primary
    endpoint had been achieved
  * Initiated a Phase I study in December for ALX-0681, a
    subcutaneous delivery form of ALX-0081
  * Announced a new preclinical development candidate, ALX-0141, a
    Nanobody® against RANKL, a target important in osteoporosis
  * Entered into an agreement to co-discover and co-develop
    Nanobodies® with Merck Serono, including a cash up-front payment
    to Ablynx of EUR 10 million
  * Received a $3 million milestone from Wyeth as their lead
    TNF-alpha Nanobody® entered a Phase I healthy volunteer study
  * Received a milestone payment in the Novartis alliance
  * Boehringer Ingelheim extended its research collaboration for
    Alzheimer's disease
  * Awarded a total of EUR 2.3 million in grants to explore novel
    methods for uses of Nanobodies®
  * Successfully generated Nanobodies® against GPCRs
  * Increased staff by 42% to 205 and secured future access to 7,000
    m2 of a new facility to support long-term growth

Post year-end, Ablynx published important initial data on a novel proprietary half-life extension technology as well as demonstrating successful pulmonary delivery of Nanobodies®. In addition, the research collaboration, which forms part of the Company's TNF-alpha license agreement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, has been extended for another year. This license agreement, which was announced in November 2006, has already resulted in Wyeth taking the lead Nanobody® into Phase I clinical trials in December 2008.

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